The acidic components present in the urine and plasma of diabetic patients are being identified and quantitated by the use of a reverse library search program applied to the data obtained from automated gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses. These samples are collected from a registry of diabetics under known conditions of diet and therapy and are contrasted to samples from a normal population in an effort to delinate biochemical indices of the diabetic state. Situations of positive correlation between abnormal concentrations of specific compounds and clinical symptoms will lead to the development of efficient analytical procedures for their routine analyses and direct investigations into the biochemical basis of their involvement. These studies will contribute to more effective incipient disease detection methods and add to the therapeutic regimen of treatment.